13 Jun New Pathways to Meet College Math Requirements

Leaders at California State University and California Community Colleges, as well as the California state legislature, are helping usher in new pathways to meet controversial college math requirements. Remedial enrollments are one thing that will change dramatically under new policies that community colleges will implement next year.

Under new regulations governing how students meet college math requirements:

Community colleges will no longer place the majority of their students into remedial math courses.

Community college students transferring to CSU no longer have to take a course with an intermediate algebra prerequisite.

CSU students will now be allowed to take college-level math courses with extra support.

These changes have the potential to open new doors for tens of thousands of students each year, who in the past might have got stuck in remedial math courses. Under past policies, African-American and Latino students have disproportionately been put in remedial classes, which research shows can impede, rather than boost, students’ progress in college.

A diversified math pathways approach can help colleges ensure that students get the rigorous and relevant math foundation they need to be successful in their futures. But the effectiveness of the new policies will hinge on how they are implemented.